When model and actress Anna Nicole Smith tragically passed away in 2007, her daughter Dannielynn
Birkhead was only five months old.
Since then, Dannielynn has reportedly grown up to be a regular kid with a normal everyday
life, but what's she been up to all this time?
Spitting image
Dannielynn, who turned 11 in September 2017, looks just like her late mother.
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight in November 2015, Dannielynn's father, Larry Birkhead,
said she's a walking reminder of Smith's legacy.
"She reminds me so much of her mom and as she gets older, and her features are changing,
it's just like having a little miniature Anna Nicole running around in so many ways."
"You could've looked like me and that would have been bad, ya know."
"Tell me about it."
Far from Hollywood
After Smith passed, Dannielynn and her dad moved to rural Kentucky, where he continues
to raise her with the help of his extended family.
The move has had a positive impact on Dannielynn.
He told Entertainment Tonight in 2015,
"I think [about] how far she's come...
Just a little kid doing her thing like she's supposed to be.
That's the one thing that I'm most proud of that I've done — trying to keep everything
as normal as I can, in just a really crazy, crazy situation."
Frequent visitor
Dannielynn revealed that her favorite place to visit is the Bahamas, where Smith was buried
in 2007.
Larry told Entertainment Tonight that he regularly takes her to Smith's grave.
"We visit and I tell Dannielynn stories about her mom.
I don't sugar coat it.
I say there are some things that your mom did and you know I try to make her learn from it."
Avoiding the internet
One of the toughest things about raising a child in the age of the internet is the overwhelming
amount of information kids have at their fingertips.
Tabloids feasted on the life story of the high school dropout who became a stripper,
a Playboy Playmate, and then a top model.
Smith notoriously married an elderly billionaire oil tycoon and later battled his family over
the inheritance.
Her life was turned upside down when her 20-year-old son's life ended in the Bahamas in 2006 from
a reported accidental overdose on medications, the same cause of her own tragic passing less
than six months later.
Subsequently, a paternity controversy and custody battle ensued over baby Dannielynn.
Larry emerged as the father and has been raising his little girl as a single dad ever since.
"...my daughter likes to Google already and I'm trying to keep her from it.
She'll see things, you know, when she grows up, that are not necessarily all true."
Larry went on to say that he misses Smith, adding,
"Was she wild?
Yeah, sure.
But a great lady, and a great mom."
Matchmaker
During a chat with Good Morning America, Larry revealed that his relationship status was
regularly on his daughter's mind.
"She says, 'Daddy, why don't you go get married?'
And I said, 'Who do you want me to marry?'
'Why don't you marry Lady Gaga?'
He went on to reveal that Dannielynn made a Mother's Day card in school and suggested
he give it to a new wife.
"There's not a week that goes by where she doesn't mention, go get married?"
New sibling?
In addition to finding a wife, Dannielynn apparently wants to see her dad grow their
family by adopting a child.
Larry told Entertainment Tonight in September 2017,
"We went to a museum in Indianapolis and she started pulling these brochures for these
kids that were up for adoption and she said, 'Just surprise me when you get home.
Bring the best one home.'"
Guess model
In November 2012, Dannielynn followed in her mother's footsteps when she made her modeling
debut for Guess Kids.
Smith's rise to stardom was catapulted by her Guess campaign in the early '90s.
"To see her mom's picture next to hers as a Guess girl and say, 'Hey, I was a Guess
Kids girl, my mommy was a Guess girl,' that might be her only connection with her mom."
Is Larry trying to launch his daughter's modeling career?
Not exactly.
In fact, he told Good Morning America the gig was just for fun, saying,
"My goal for her is for her to be a child and just do what all kids do."
Future YouTuber
The youngster seems ready to take on Hollywood, just like her mother — but in a millennial
way.
Larry told Us Weekly in 2017,
"[Dannielynn] wants to be a YouTuber and make videos."
He added that he often fields phone calls for modeling requests, saying,
"I tell her, 'That's a lot of work, and you're only 11 years old.
If it's something you want to do when you get older, you can, but right now let's sell
some Girl Scout cookies.'"
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